Quote Originally Posted by Bham1982 View Post
Of course you can. You demolish and rebuild.

Almost nothing you see in Manhattan or Hong Kong is the original structure. Usually you're on the 3rd, 4th or 5th iteration at this point. Probably someplace really old, like a Rome, is on Version 8 or something.

There are many supertalls going up in Midtown Manhattan right now, and I don't think even one is being built on vacant land or other "soft site" [[parking garage, taxpayer buildings, etc.) They're assemblages, where a developer patiently buys existing buildings and gathers development rights over time. Then he slowly clears the buildings of tenants, demolishes, and builds the new structure.
Right, so how is that different than if Detroit demolishes its buildings? It's not a guarantee that it will be redeveloped in any certain time frame, but I'm very sure NYC has lost historical buildings that otherwise would have been unique and well liked by the community of current residents. However, I don't think the loss of such buildings has in anyway contributed to a decline or given less appeal to NYC.